Posts

It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year

It’s the season of giving — why not give yourself the gift of space? We’re fully into the holiday season now, a time of celebration, and a chance to catch some great sales. So, how do you avoid overwhelming limited storage capacity when bringing new stuff into the home? Here are some practical and charitable ways to be a little lighter and brighter this holiday season.
Closets & Clothing

Establish a rule that when a new coat, shirt, or pair of shoes comes into the house, an old one must go in the give-away pile.

The wintertime is sock-time–go through the sock drawer. Look for those with holes or without a match, or those that never fit right, and get rid of them.

Instead of taking the sweaters from off-season storage and squeezing them into the closet, take a moment to look through them. Some are likely well-worn or ill-fitting, or haven’t made it off the shelf in years. Those can go into the give-away pile, leaving more room in the closet for the ones you enjoy wearing.

Once everything has been sorted through, take stock of what you have and need. Do you need more or less sock storage—maybe sweaters can be hung on pant hangers instead of folded on shelves (or visa versa). Bins and baskets can be great ways to store socks or gloves, hats, and scarves as well. If a total closet make-over is needed, you can call a professional closet designer to develop a tailored solution.

Coat Closet & Outerwear

Take a serious look through the coat closet. Which of the coats never got worn last year? Probably it never fit right, or is just not your style. Put it in the giveaway pile.

Sort through the winter-wear drawer. Most people have more hats, gloves, and scarves than they wear. If your favorite style gloves are worn out, now is the time to buy a new pair, before the stores are out of stock. This way, you can also find room for that gorgeous new scarf.

Look through the winter shoes, boots, slippers, booties. Again, now is the time to replace that worn out favorite style with something new that you love, and will wear all winter.

The winter shoes often get stored near the door in a pile. Consider the possibilities of a mud room with customized shoe storage. Once the snow starts falling, this could also accommodate the wet coats, hats and gloves.

Charities & Giving

Take a look at the give-away pile and smile! This is all stuff that cluttered your space. If you take it away, you can find the clothes you love, and buy replacements for worn out favorites without worrying about where to put them.

Best of all, there are so many charities that can take away your give-away items. There are veteran’s organizations, coat drives for the homeless, clothing drives for kids in need. You can clear your space and help people – a very good result.

https://symmetryclosets.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/Updated-Symmetry-Logo_010719-300x128.jpg00adminhttps://symmetryclosets.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/Updated-Symmetry-Logo_010719-300x128.jpgadmin2018-11-05 15:47:462019-05-10 15:40:49It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year

Organizing and Making Room for Spring

We’re hearing the birds chirping in the morning, the snow banks are finally starting to recede, and spring is definitely in view. Soon, we’ll be focused on the outdoors–planting beautiful flowers, getting the patio furniture together, clearing out the garden.
But consider this—right now, these few weeks before spring starts are your chance to deal with the inside of the house. This is the time to tackle those organizational projects you’ve been meaning to get to all winter. This year, why not take the opportunity to make the next few seasons flow more smoothly?
These are some of the seasonal projects our customers have asked us about lately—are some of these on your to do list?

Off Season Clothing Storage: Soon the heavy winter clothing will be swapped out for the lighter spring and summer wear. It’s easiest to store off season clothes in a basement/attic/spare room closet just as they were in the winter closet. That way you can simply slip the next season’s clothing into your closet.

Coat Closet Systems: The coat closets get crowded quickly. This is the perfect time to assess what’s worth keeping for next winter. You may have found a great new jacket on sale—give away the old one. Of course, anything that’s frayed, pilled, out-grown or obviously dated can go in the give-away box as well. The reward–when the winter coats are washed and dry cleaned this year, they’ll fit back in the closet with room to spare.

Off Season Bedding and Linens: The thick blankets and flannel sheets, winter pillows and heavy curtains need to make room for the airy and bright colors of spring. Having a dedicated place for each bedroom or function helps you to find what you need for the next season.

Garage Storage: We really needed the skis and snowshoes this winter. But we’re eager to put away our sleds, ski poles, and other gear until next year. You may have the perfect place in your garage or basement to store the stuff you have, and maybe for the stuff you want to get next year. If not, a storage system can help organize everything and keep it clean/dry until next winter.

Pantry Storage Solution: Every season seems to call for an organized pantry. Right now, we’re just about ready to stow away the crock pot and big soup pot. And soon we’ll need serving pieces for Easter/Passover and outside non-breakables for summer barbecues. It’s hard to find places for it all. An organized pantry can help, and even if your space doesn’t currently have a pantry, it’s often possible to adapt a nearby space to help simplify your seasonal transitions.

After this winter, none of us can wait for the warmer weather! We hope that these ideas inspire you and make the next few months more enjoyable and fun. Happy Spring!

Back to School Organization

Back to school can bring lots of clutter in several areas around the home. As storage professionals, we see all kinds of storage and work space problems develop while school gets into high gear.

Here are a few tips to alleviate the added stress:
(1) Organize the family coat closet. If space allows, consider adding double hanging for the shorter jackets. Adding a shelf or two for a few extra pair of shoes and the kids’ back packs does a lot to clear up the floor space.
(2) This year, don’t let the kids store their books and homework on the kitchen table; find a comfy space where they can do their homework and store their school supplies. This area can be just a small table or desk or even a big comfy reading chair with a bookcase for storage nearby. This way, all the school work and books can be contained in one area instead of overflowing throughout the family space.
(3) Keep the sports gear all in one dedicated space; an attached garage can be the perfect location. Just add a few hooks and baskets for cleats, helmets and pads and a tall bin or two for lacrosse or hockey sticks and baseball bats. You’re freed from having all this gear stuffed into your front coat closet, or scattered in the entryway or child’s bedroom.
(4) Finally, if you have a mud room area — make the most of it. Using some hooks for the jackets, shelves for shoes, a few baskets for hats or gloves and a couple of bins for book bags can go a long way toward keeping your home clutter free and happy. And remember to include a small bench so the kids can put on their shoes before they dash off to class!
Have a happy autumn.

https://symmetryclosets.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/Updated-Symmetry-Logo_010719-300x128.jpg00adminhttps://symmetryclosets.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/Updated-Symmetry-Logo_010719-300x128.jpgadmin2015-10-05 04:16:322019-05-10 19:24:24Back to School